programme launched by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities helped to spur domestic tourism this year despite coronavirus restrictions which took a heavy toll on the sector, through organizing thousands of low-cost trips to diverse destinations across the Kingdom, the ministry said.

The programme, whose costs are subsidized by the ministry and the Tourism Promotion Board by more than 50 per cent, "had met the desired goals" as the number of participants topped 63,000, three months after its launch, according to a ministry press release.

It said that some 2,256 tour buses, accompanied by guides, were used to transport people from the various governorates of the Kingdom to tourist destinations.

Tourism Promotion Board Assistant Director-General, and Director of Urdun Jannah, Yazan Khudair, said that the ministry and the tourism board also subsidized folklore events and concerts, which are part of a campaign launched by the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority to stimulate tourism in the Golden Triangle (Petra, Wadi Rum, and Aqaba).

The ministry said that the programme is aimed to make up for the losses incurred by the tourism sector during the pandemic and help its recovery through involving tourist offices, transport companies, guides, domestic flights and other facilities, such as restaurants, camps, and providers of animals used for rides in Petra and four-wheel drive vehicles in Wadi Rum.

The Urdun Jannah campaign being implemented by tourism offices provides free transportation with modern tour buses that set off from all governorates of the Kingdom to various destinations as well as assigning a tourist guide to each bus and providing meals.